Fluoxetine increase to 40mg

[Kimmyleanne]

Hello, im new here. I have been reading through alot but want some advice/reassurance.
I have been on fluoxetine for nearly 6 weeks now. 4 weeks at 20mg & 2 weeks at 40mg.
Im still really anxious, if anything the anxiety has ramped up again this week. Also waking up to anxiety attacks & im exhausted. Im starting to worry if these will work for me 🙁.
Has anyone else experience increase in anxiety & low thoughts when increasing the dosage?

@Orangesandlemons77 it doesnt stimulate me im exhausted at the moment. Im able to sleep aswell in the night but do wake with anxiety & racing heart. Think thats just extra adrenaline.

Il see what he says tomorrow. Im worrying theyve increased my dose if it wasnt needed now. Ive taken it already today. I can feel the jitterness.
Its only been 3 weeks since i increased so maybe its just side effects kicking in again 🤷🏼‍♀️.

It might just not suit you, I would speak to them and see what they say

best of luck

I’m still the same as you @Kimmyleanne my anxiety is still bad 5 weeks into citalopram and now on 30mg. Keep us updated when you have seen your GP

@Catsservant Oh really your still struggling.
When did you increase it? I think increases bring more side effects so it seems. People have told me weeks 3 & 4 are worse.
I shall message & tell you what he suggests. I think he will tell me to split my dose & ride it out.

@Kimmyleanne So I started 5 weeks ago cross tapering from Paroxetine to citalopram, week 1 10mg, week 2 20mg than last week 30mg.

@Catsservant I imagine coming off one to another has side effects in itself. Youve gone up quite quickly too. But kind of wish i did aswell so i didnt have the side effects again ☹️

@Kimmyleanne I don’t know if discontinuing is the reason my anxiety isn’t improving as my depression is definitely better. I was previously taking it for 25 years and paroxetine is one of the hardest to get off

My DD has been on fluoxetine for roughly four years. Even now if she misses a few doses she goes through this whole anxiety and paranoia. It takes her roughly 6-8 weeks to feel okayish and 12 weeks to feel completely normal. This also happens after dosage change but the settlement period is usually less.
She also can't drink alcohol at all. While some people can but in her case it brings back anxiety. She is on a low dose of 20mg so maybe that could be the reason. Also the psychiatrist advised that if you are mostly tired after taking it then it's best to take it in the evening around dinner time. It does give her vivid dreams but she is not tired during the day. Earlier she was taking it in the morning and sometimes felt dizzy.

@Worriedmrs Gosh so missing doses make you feel rubbish too.
I havent attempted drinking yet. The thought gives me anxiety.
I shall see what my GP says today. Im not feeling well at all past 2 days unsure if its side effects or not 🤷🏼‍♀️.

So i have just spoke to my gp & he has suggested i go back to 20mg until i have my other review next week as 40mg may just be too high for me. So i have only taken 20 today. We shall see 😊

@Kimmyleanne good luck. I don’t really drink anyway but I’ve found you don’t need much to get drunk quickly. Maybe just try a small amount first. Yes missing doses isn’t good due to the half life although fluoxetine has a long half life compared to other ssri. Effectively you start to go into withdrawal missing doses

@Catsservant I admittedly took 40 again today. I have been ok just exhausted again in the afternoon. I have a face to face review on Thursday with my usual doctor so may see how i get on till then & go from there. I only worry that if i go back down to 20mg & it doesnt work il have to go up again & its back to square one isnt it.
Il try a drink when im in the right mood. Maybe on a date night so my fiancè can be my safety net haha

Not sure if your age but just this evening was reading an interview with someone with similar reactions and she actually needed her hormones looked at - ie perimenopause. SSRIs were not working

is 30 not an option?

@AnotherNaCha Hi. Im 36. I did have a full blood test for the perimenopause to rule it out before i went on these. Ive had all the tests going, only thing that flagged up was low Vit D which i now take.

@blubbyblub 30mg maybe an option. Im not jittery today just high anxiety. Trying to push through till my review on thursday. Alot of people ive spoken to have said increasing it is like starting all over again until the new dose levels in your system

@Kimmyleanne How are you now any improvement

I’m on 60mg, and there is heightened anxiety and a few weeks when you don’t feel any better, but I’ve been on it for a few years now, and it’s working for me. I hope you feel better soon

@BebbanburgIsMine how long did it take for your anxiety to go away??
Mines still high in the mornings. Im 7 weeks on 40mg fluoxetine. Its such a slow process!

@Kimmyleanne it is so difficult waiting for the medication to work. I have been on sertraline and fluoxetine before and have found both of them gave me increased anxiety and depression in the first few weeks as well as other side effects like nausea. This happened with every dose change too.

It is hard to remember exactly now but I think about 4 weeks was when I started to notice a bit of improvement, although it would be two steps forward and then one back with a few really rough days leaving me thinking it wasn't working after all.

I found I still had really bad anxiety first thing in the morning for quite a while, but that it started to be less intense and also started to last for less time as the days went by.

It’s quite hard to remember exactly, I’ve been on it for so long, but it may have been around 8/9 weeks.

It sounds like you may need the higher dosage.